The present disclosure is directed to motion and position sensors. In particular, the present disclosure is directed to optical encoders, such as rotary and linear optical encoders.
Rotary and linear encoders are used in a variety of industries for detecting mechanical motions and positions of different systems. For example, rotary encoders may be mounted to axles of drive motors to detect rotation of the axles. Such encoders are typically mechanical or optical in nature, where optical encoders use optical signals for motion and position detection.
Optical encodes are generally provided as either absolute encoders or incremental encoders. Absolute encoders include unique encoded patterns, where each pattern corresponds to a particular position be monitored. As such, absolute encoders are capable of detecting mechanical positions even after power loss. In comparison, incremental encoders use a non-unique repeated pattern for measuring relative changes in positions. As a result, incremental encoders are not capable of retaining positions after power losses, and typically require indexing upon power up. Nonetheless, incremental encoders are typically less expensive than absolute encoders, and constitute a vast majority of the mechanical and optical encoders in use.